Search

It wasn’t long after writing about my satisfaction from researching the GEERINGs of Hailsham, Sussex that I made another important discovery. Actually it wasn’t really a discovery as such, but the realisation of a link between and importance of two pieces of possible evidence I had previously discovered.

The first piece of evidence is a marriage on the IGI for James GEARING and Ann HOWLETT at Saint Martin in the Fields, Westminster on the 30th September 1797.

So far this has proved to be the best match for the marriage of my 5x great-grandparents, but I was reluctant to accept it without any further evidence just because it seemed a good fit. When I looked at it, it wasn’t even that good a fit.

The second piece of evidence came to light when I started looking into the life of John James GEERING, one of the other children of James and Ann.

It looks like John James GEERING married Eliza JONES in Lewes, Sussex on the 11th June 1821. Their first child was baptised on the 14th October 1822 in Lewes, Sussex. His name was Francis Howlett GEERING.

It looks like John James GEERING’s first child was given a middle name that was the same as his grandmother’s surname. It could just be coincidence of course, but it gives me enough confidence to start looking for the parents and siblings of Ann HOWLETT in London, in search of further clues.

So another piece of the jigsaw seems to slot into place, maybe not a corner piece but certainly one of the edge pieces. Unfortunately there is still a lot of blue sky to fill in before the picture is complete.